In the never-ending quest to make even the smallest devices on Earth a touch smaller, a talented team of MIT engineers have developed a method for creating and installing microbatteries, which could eventually power a plethora of diminutive devices including "labs-on-a-chip and implantable medical sensors." It's bruited that this is the first time in which "microcontact printing has been used to fabricate and position microbattery electrodes and the first use of virus-based assembly in such a process," and while you'd likely have to be a colleague to even digest that, the take away is that these gurus are one step closer to generating battery-powered Scrubbing Bubbles. And your shower could use 'em.

[Via PCMag]

Fujitsu's cute-as-a-button U2010 (or U820, for you USers) was shown off over in Japan at a company event, and while most of the specifications were already hammered out, one particular tidbit at AkihabaraNews took us by surprise. With seemingly every other netbook out there getting blasted for lackluster battery life, the U2010 will reportedly support an extended cell that offers up 11.1 hours of run time. We've no idea if that's a "maximum" number based on "optimal" usage, but no matter how you dice it, it sure beats the (also respectable) 5.3 hour rating given to the standard battery.

[Via BoingBoing]

If you find yourself burning through your MacBook or iBook batteries at an alarming rate, perhaps you require a charging solution that's, shall we say... more robust. That's where Oncore Power's psychotic 6-bay charging station comes into play. Never again will you have to suffer the indignation of a powerless laptop with the company's all-in-one solution to charge every brick in your arsenal at once. The device will juice up three batteries at once, letting you stagger the two bays of three slots so you're always one stylish wrist snap away from sweet, sweet power. Sure, it costs $395 (and presumably more for the version with included batteries), but you can't put a price on peace of mind, can you? Oh, wait. You can. It's $395.

[Via Macworld]

Ever seen a toy robot low on batteries? It's sad, sadder than the shredded flesh and bone caked between its servos. Unfortunately, modern gear chews through disposable batteries faster than the time it takes to make a hippie cry. Enter Sanyo, which today finally announces its new rechargeable C and D-sized Eneloop batteries. This ain't the same, sad Ni-MH rechargeable tech found in yo mama's pager battery -- you know, the one that beeps and makes people think she's backing up... Oh! Eneloops come pre-charged, maintain that charge in the drawer, and can be recharged a thousand times without any of that lame memory effect. Available initially on September 12th in Japan before breaking out for global distribution.

[Via I4U]

It's Thursday evening -- do you know what that means? Besides being the unofficial start of the weekend (party people, what's up?), it's time for another round of Ask Engadget. This week we've got a college freshman who's scared to death about 8-hour flights between his hometown and his new school... without gadgets.

"I'm about to start college all the way across the country from my hometown. What this means for me, other than unprecedented freedom, adulthood, etc. [and a dose of this thing called the "real world," might we add] is lots of long flights back and forth. I'm looking for a device to entertain me during these trips. Is there anything out there that the readers can find that can play DVDs (ideally from any region, but that's not a deal-breaker) along with my AVI files and maybe some audio formats, too? The biggest issue here is battery life. I'm willing to spend $300 - $400 if I have to. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!"

We're not so sure there's a portable DVD player / PMP hybrid out there that's extra longevous, but you can always get those discs onto a vanilla PMP with a little work. So, jet-setters -- what's the best solution here? Video playback really takes a toll on handheld battery life, but are there any hidden gems that just keep going and going? Hook a brother up, and then send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.

We fully understand that time is money, but damn. With quite a few folks up in arms over the $50 to $100 price hike on the 6-cell MSI Wind over the standard 3-cell version, we can only imagine the outcries that will come after seeing this. CDW has a product page up that describes an Acer Li-ion 6-cell 5,200mAh battery that's designed to fit snugly within the $379.99 Acer Aspire One netbook. Let's see here -- a $119.99 battery for a $379.99 computer. Is that the absurdity alarm sounding, or are our ears still ringing from all the weekend revelry?

[Via TrustedReviews]

Sick of your puny 3-cell battery? Not really kosher with paying absurd premiums for a 6-cell edition? Do what any self-respecting, entirely fearless netbook owner would do -- create your own 9-cell while simultaneously sticking your tongue out at MSI. We wouldn't go tinkering with a battery pack unless you're a) quite skilled and b) well protected, but those looking for extra long battery life at the expense of (severely) uglifying your machine can dig into the how-to guide waiting in the read link below.

[Via jkOnTheRun, thanks Joe]

Two 4x Wiimote charging stations in a week? Um, okay. If, for whatever reason, the Nintendo-licensed charger we saw just days ago wasn't right for you (read: too expensive to import), we've got yet another option for you to consider. Penguin United -- which gets brownie points on name alone -- has just unveiled the Quad Charge Station for Wii, which utilizes Li-ion batteries that promise 13 full hours of playtime from each Wiimote. Additionally, it can juice up your controllers in just 4 hours, and there's even LEDs to inform you of how close to full each one is. The real kicker? The colored Wiimote straps that PU tosses in -- huzzah! Include one in your next party for $44.99.

[Via IGN]

MSI told us that a 6-cell version of its briskly-moving Wind was on the way. What it failed to mention, however, was the $50 premium that would be tacked on. The units including a 6-cell battery have been popping up in a few e-tailers here recently, with prices ranging from $559 to $599. According to an MSI representative, however, the official MSRP for the 6-cell units is $549.99 (versus $499.99 for the 3-cell edition). As you can tell, it seems that some places are taking the liberty of bundling in a little profit while demand is high. Worse still, users who managed to get their orders in at Buy.com for a $499.99 6-cell unit are now receiving cancellation notices. So, is the more capacious battery worth an extra 50 bones (or more) to you?

[Via jkOnTheRun]

'Tis a shame we North Americans, Europeans, Australians, et al. won't be seeing the Elantra LPI Hybrid in 2009, but those in South Korea have a reason to celebrate. Hyundai is gearing up to launch the company's first LPG-electric hybrid vehicle next July, which also happens to be the planet's first hybrid vehicle to be "powered by liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and adopt advanced Lithium Polymer (Li–Poly) batteries." Said automobile will pack a 1.6-liter Liquefied Petroleum Injected (LPI) Gamma engine, a 15kW electric motor and a continuously variable transmission, and while the outfit isn't releasing hard mileage numbers just yet, the car should prove to be around 50% cheaper to operate than a gas-only Elantra (pictured). C'mon Hyundai, we know you've got plans to take this thing worldwide -- just let it out of the bag already.

[Via FarEastGizmos, image courtesy of Autoblog]

Man, Tesla's been busy today -- in addition to the announcement of the Model S and Elon Musk's promise of a sub-$30K electric car in four years, word on the street is that the company's inked a deal with Daimler AG to supply it with lithium-ion batteries for upcoming electric cars. Daimler's CEO has said the company was open to leasing battery tech to get out an electric Smart by 2010 and it's rumored that the German marque is looking to ditch gas entirely by 2015, so going to Tesla, which has been working on battery tech for some time, isn't a totally out there proposition. Just a rumor for now -- given Tesla's generally-prickly relationships with others, we'd wait for an official announcement before getting too excited about a Roadster-powered SLR, but it's certainly intriguing.

It's June 27th, but instead of a 10-inch MSI Wind NB unboxing we're hearing that at least one pre-order customer is being greeted with another delay. Reason? An "industry wide battery shortage." Come now MSI, we guess you missed that giant fireball-of-a-signal to look elsewhere for your inventory back in March? At least MSI is tossing in free overnight delivery with the new July 7th ship date. Hoozah, drinks are on Fred! Full MSI notification posted after the break.

P.S. The MSI Wind NB retail page is currently blank. Time will tell if this is a deeper issue or just a temporary administration error.

[Thanks, Fred H.]

Unlike the sticky situation in Hong Kong (which was in fact resolved), ASUS was under no obligation to provide 5800mAh batteries to buyers in the UK. Officially, the outfit noted that it "offers different solutions in different markets," and although UKers have received 4400mAh batteries in their machines, they also get a lengthened two-year warranty. Nevertheless, the company is making the right moves once again by offering these very customers a couple of options; first, users can download a firmware update that will reportedly add around 30 minutes of life to their current cell. If that's not enough, owners can send in the 4400mAh pack along with £10 + VAT in exchange for a longer-lasting 5800mAh edition. Looks like a pretty fair deal from this side of the pond.

[Thanks, JC]

Nikkei's reporting that Hitachi Maxell, in association with Nagasaki University, NIAIST, and Fuji Heavy Industries, has developed a new kind of lithium ion battery that can supposedly store 20 times the power, but is also cheap and easily mass produced. Apparently this new kind of battery drops cobalt, an expensive staple of the traditional Li-ion recipe, instead making use of nano-infused lithium with manganese. You know how it goes though -- unrealistic and exponential battery developments are all well and good, but until we see it productized, we're not exactly liable to buy into the hype. [Warning: subscription req'd]

If you're anything like our boy Ryan, you've been wearing that Wii Fit out ever since you took delivery. Unfortunately, you've probably been doing a bit of unintentional jogging when logging miles back and forth to the local mini-mart for batteries. If you can't seem to keep your Wii Balance Board charged, Nyko has introduced a novel solution: the Energy Pack for Wii Fit. Our pals over at Nintendo Wii Fanboy were able to get ahold of this very unit and put it through its paces, and generally speaking, they were quite impressed with the $20 peripheral-for-a-peripheral. Head on over for the full writeup and a smattering of pics.